Can opener with a hand lever removable from the frame by the position of same

ABSTRACT

An electrically powered can opener has a cutter wheel carrying hand lever pivotally attached to the upright frame of the can opener by a pin member which extends from the lever through an aperture in the frame. The hand lever has an edge surface contacting an embossed surface of the frame to maintain the hand lever in an operative position with respect to the can feed wheel and to permit an annular groove in the pin member to engage a portion of the frame adjacent the aperture therein. A suitably sized notch is located in the hand lever adjacent the frame boss contacting edge of same thereby permitting the lever notch to be aligned with the boss, the hand lever moved downwardly so that it is no longer in secured engagement with the can opener frame. This movement enables the hand lever and associated pin member to be withdrawn from the aperture within the frame. A second embodiment utilizes cooperating bosses respectively extending from the can opener frame and from the inner surface of the hand lever to both allow operative hand lever movement and yet to permit separation and removal when the hand lever is moved to cause disengagement of the respective bosses.

Unite States Patent McLean [451 June 20, 1972 [54] CAN ORENER WITH AHAND LEVER REMOVABLE FROM THE FR BY THE POSITION OF S Robert E. McLean,Raytown, Mo.

Rival Manufacturing Company, Kansas City, Mo.

[22] Filed: July 6, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 52,549

[72] Inventor:

[73] Assignee:

[52] US. Cl. ..30/4 R [51] Int. Cl ....B76b 7/38 [58] Field of Search..30/4 R, 9

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,520,056 7/1970 Scott..30/4 R Primary Examiner-Andrew R. J uhasz Assistant ExaminerGary L.Smith Attorney-Scofield, Kokjer, Scofield & Lowe [5 7] ABSTRACT Anelectrically powered can opener has a cutter wheel carrying hand leverpivotally attached to the upright frame of the can opener by a pinmember which extends from the lever through an aperture in the frame.The hand lever has an edge surface contacting an embossed surface of theframe to main tain the hand lever in an operative position with respectto the can feed wheel and to permit an annular groove in the pin memberto engage a portion of the frame adjacent the aperture therein.

A suitably sized notch is located in the hand lever adjacent the frameboss contacting edge of same thereby permitting the lever notch to bealigned with the boss, the hand lever moved downwardly so that it is nolonger in secured engagement with the can opener frame. This movementenables the hand lever and associated pin member to be withdrawn fromthe aperture within the frame.

A second embodiment utilizes cooperating bosses respectively extendingfrom the can opener frame and from the inner surface of the hand leverto both allow operative hand lever movement and yet to permit separationand removal when the hand lever is moved to cause disengagement of therespective bosses.

4 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures P'A'TENTEDJum I972 sum 10F 2 INVENTOR.3060'? f. Melee)? CAN OPENER WITH A HAND LEVER REMOVABLE FROM THE FRAMEBY THE POSITION OF SAME BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The Robert J.Scott Patent Application entitled REMOVABLE HAND LEVER CONSTRUCTION,filed Jan. 15, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,056, issued July 14, 1971,which is owned by the same assignee, fully explains the advantages ofelectrically powered can openers having removable hand levers whichcarry the cutting elements thereon. Further, advantages of maintainingthe cutting elements of the can opener in a clean and sanitary conditionwere detailed therein and my invention relates to a unique can openerconstruction which permits the easy removability of such a hand lever.

My invention utilizes a hand lever which carries the cutting element ofthe can opener thereon and which has a tapered end pin member (with anannular groove therein) extending from same to facilitate the pivotalattachment of the hand lever within an aperture in the upright frame ofthe can opener. The aperture is generally oval in shape with the rearsurface of the can opener frame having an attached plate on a suitablebossed area that has a keyhole shaped opening defined therein. The lowerportion of the keyhole opening is substantially the same dimension asthe diameter of the oval aperture, however, the upper portion of thekeyhole is necked down so that the plate portion adjacent thereto may beengaged within the annular groove of the pin member. The forward surfaceof the can opener frame includes a suitable boss that is positionedrelative to the aperture in the frame so that an edge of the hand levermay ride on a surface portion of the boss when the lever is in anyoperative position.

The mounting or the removal of the hand lever is facilitated by'thenotched portion of the hand lever adjacent the edge of same whichcontacts the forward frame boss. This notched portion is sized tomatingly fit over the forward boss when the pin member is located in thelower portion of the frame aperture and corresponding plate opening.With upward movement of the can opener hand lever moving the annulargroove in the pin member to a rear plate engaging position, theabovementioned hand lever edge will then be able to be swung to contactthe surface of the forward frame boss. In this position (the normaloperating position), the removal of the hand lever and associatedcutting element is precluded.

When it is desired to remove the hand lever from the can opener, thelever is swung past the normal uppennost operating position so that theabove-mentioned notch in the hand lever registers with the forward frameboss, thereby permitting the hand lever and the grooved pin securedtherein to be moved downwardly within the frame aperture and the plate.opening. As a result, the annular groove is moved out of engagementwith the rear plate and axial separation of the pin member andaperture-plate opening combination is thereby permitted.

The second embodiment of my can opener utilizes cooperating bosses whichrespectively extend from the can opener frame and from the inner surfaceof the hand lever to both allow operative hand lever movement and yet topermit separation and removal when the hand lever is appropriately movedto cause disengagement of the respective bosses.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide in a canopener of the type wherein the cutting element is carried by and movedinto and out of the cutting position by a hand lever substantiallypivoted to the body or frame of a can opener, a readily removable canpiercing hand lever which is uniquely constructed to permit theremovability and reassembly of the hand lever with respect to the frameby the appropriate relative positioning of the hand lever.

Another object of my invention is to provide a readily removable canpiercing hand lever assembly which is removable by the positioning ofthe hand lever with respect to the frame and which maintains the handlever in its operative positions and precludes removal of same from thecan opener frame by unique cooperating elements of both the frame andthe lever structures.

A further object of my invention is to provide a uniquely constructedpower can opener with a removable hand lever assembly which isinexpensive to manufacture, simple to operate, and which insuresinadvertent misalignment between the cooperating elements of the canopener which permits the hand lever removability. It is a feature of myinvention that the hand lever is suitably notched to cooperate with itsassociated pin member and the frame construction so that the above object may be carried out.

Other and further objects of the invention, together with the featuresof novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear in the course of thefollowing description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing, whichforms a part of the specification and is to be read in conjunctiontherewith and in which like reference numerals are employed to indicatelike parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a front fragmentary elevational view of a power operated canopener with a removable can piercing hand lever assembly and with theparts shown in approximately the normal operating or at rest position;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the can opener upright frame andincluding the rear plate and keyhole opening therein which cooperateswith the frame aperture;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2in the direction of the arrows and showing the hand lever and pinassembly in the normal operating position, such as that indicated inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, however with the lever assemblypivoted and moved downwardly to a position which would permit removal ofsame from the can opener frame; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view with the hand lever shownin broken lines and in a position to either permit removal of same withrespect to the frame or the reattachment of the hand lever on the frame.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a power operated canopener using the second embodiment of my invention with the boss on theinner surface of the can opener hand lever shown in broken lines;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the rear surface of acan opener frame shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7in the direction of the arrows and showing the hand lever in an engagedposition with respect to the frame to preclude removal of same;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the hand lever moved to aposition that will permit removal from the frame; and

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of the can opener frame shown inFIG. 6 with the hand lever removed.

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral 10 generally designatesthe body or frame of a typical electrically operated can opener and, assuch, may include various thicknesses and embossed areas. The principalportion of the frame shown in the various views is adapted to cooperatewith an open front boxdike casing 10a and serves to support the variousoperative parts of the can opener.

A serrated or toothed rotary feed wheel 11 is operatively located on theforward side of frame 10. The feed wheel drive shaft 12 extends throughframe 10 and is rotatively supported in an appropriate bearingedaperture in a thickened portion of frame 10. An electric motor means(now shown) rotates shaft 12 and drives feed wheel 1 l in a conventionalmanner.

A can piercing hand or operating lever 13 is constructed to be locatedforwardly of frame 10 so as to provide a movable support for cutterwheel 14. The cutter wheel is mounted for free rotation on the usualstud or arbor anchored in lever 13 and held on the arbor by screw 15.Hand lever 13 has an elongate pin assembly extending through a suitablefitted aperture in the lower left-hand portion of the lever (see FIG. 1)and is fixedly secured thereto. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the forwardor outwardly extending portion of the pin assembly includes acylindrical rod-like projection 46 which functions as a can guide. Theintermediate portion of the pin assembly includes the continuation ofcan guide 16 with a nut 17 and a circular flange 170 on either sidethereof further fixedly locating and positioning the hand lever at anoptimum location relative to other portions of the pin assembly. Forconvenience of illustration, the intermediate portion 17b is indicatedas being externally threaded to further accommodate the above-describedpin assembly elements. The rearward extending portion of the pinassembly includes the tapered end pin member 16b which has an annulargroove 16c in the rear end portion thereof but forwardly of the taperedend of same.

Pin member 16a is rotatively positionable within the elongated or ovalaperture 18 (see FIG. which angles upwardly and to the right from thelower axis of same. In actual practice, aperture 18 is suitably sized tofreely accommodate the diameter of pin member 1612 along its entirelength and, since it has an oval shape, the pin member is permitted toslide from the lower left end of the aperture to the upper right end ofsame. As shown in FIG. 2, the rear surface of frame immediately adjacentaperture 18 has a plate 19 fixedly attached thereto by means of screw 20or any other suitable means. In any event, plate 19 will have a keyholeshaped opening 21 located therein with the lower portion of the slot inregistration with the lower left-hand portion (as seen from the front)of aperture 18 and with the upper and smaller necked down portion ofkeyhole opening 21 in registration with the upper righthand portion ofslot 18. The plate thickness is selected so as to permit same to beengaged within annular groove 16c in pin member 16b as will be describedlater.

The forward surface of frame 10 is selectively embossed immediately tothe left and below aperture 18. This boss hereinafter identified by thenumeral 22) has a radial face 22a which substantially parallels matingsurface 13a of a lever 13 whenever lever 13 is in any operatingposition, such as shown in FIG. 5. The sides of the boss 22 extendsubstantially perpendicular to a chord through the radial surfaceterminating edges and is sized to permit registration with a notch inthe hand lever as will be described later.

Turning now more particularly to hand lever 13, the lefthand edgesurface of same includes the above-mentioned notch 123 which is definedby substantially perpendicular edges with respect to the left-hand edgeof lever 13 with the upper perpendicular notched edge extending deeperwithin lever 13 than the lower perpendicular notched edge. Both notchededges are spanned by the interconnecting inner edge 230 which likewisehas a curvilinear or arcuate shape when viewed from the front as inFIG. 1. The left-hand lever edge below slot 23 (represented by thenumeral 13a) is arcuately shaped to mate with the radial surface 22a ofboss 22 and to permit the lever to ride thereon in its normal operatingpositions.

In operation, the hand lever is mounted or attached to frame 10 bypositioning same with respect to frame 10 so that pin member 1612 entersaperture 18 at the lower left-hand end thereof (when viewed from thefront) and with notch 23 circumscribing through sides of boss 22 or inthe position represented by the broken lines in FIG. 5. The hand leveris then moved so that pin member 16b is moved upwardly and to the rightwithin aperture 18 and within the registering rear plate opening 21.This movement is permitted by the presence of annular groove 160 in pinmember 16b which allows the necked down portion of the keyhole shapedopening 21 to now be in registration with annular groove 160 so that thesides of plate 19 adjacent thereto are engaged within the groove.Downward swinging of lever 13 will then cause arcuate lower left-handedge 13a of hand lever 13 to be in engagement with cooperating arcuatesurface 220 of boss 22 so that the surface edge 13a may ride thereonwhen the lever is in any of its normal operating positions. It should bepointed out that with the plate 19 adjacent the necked down portion ofkeyhole slot 21 engaged within annular groove 16c axial separation ofthe pin member from aperture 18 and the corresponding slot is precluded,yet pivotal movement of the hand lever is permitted.

When it is desired to remove the hand lever from frame 10 for cleaningpurposes, hand lever 13 may be rotated upwardly and to the left (as seenfrom the front) or to the broken line position as shown in FIG. 5. Atthis time, notch 23 registers with boss 22 and permits the pin member tobe moved downwardly and to the left within aperture 18 (FIG. 5 or to theposition shown in FIG. 4) so that no portion of plate 19 is then engagedwithin annular groove 16c and axial separation of the pin member and theaperture-rear plate opening combination is permitted.

Turning now more particularly to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 6through 10, the principal portions of the can opener which include thecan opener frame 10, the lever 13, the pin assembly including pin member16b and the latching plate 19 with the keyhole opening 21 therein aresubstantially the same as that described with respect to the firstembodiment. There are certain differences which has changed the externalappearance of the can opener as well as the operating principlesinvolved in the ability to remove the hand lever with the cuttingelement thereon from the can opener.

For example, the oval opening in the forward portion of the can openerwhich was previously identified by the numeral 1 18 is now repositionedso that it extends upwardly to the left (when viewed from the front) andis identified by the numeral 30 in the appropriate figures. A boss 31having an arcuate upper edge surface 31a is spaced from the upper endextremity of slot 30 and located on the forward surface of frame 10. Theboss (31) is designed to cooperate with boss 32 which is projectionwelded to the inner surface of hand lever 13. Boss 32 has a radialsurface 32a which substantially parallels the mating surface 31a of boss31 whenever lever 13 is in any operating position such as that shown inFIG. 1. The upper end of the boss 32 (32b) substantially forms astraight edge terminus to correspond with the lower edge terminus 31b ofboss 31 and to permit boss disengagement and hand lever removal as willbe described later.

As mentioned above with respect to the embodiment shown in FIGS. l-5, inorder to permit the hand lever which carries the cutting element thereonto be removed from the can opener frame, it is necessary that pin member16b is permitted to move to the lowermost position within the frameopening 30. This unintentional movement of the pin member within opening30 is prevented by the engagement of the radial boss 32 which extendsfrom the inner surface of hand lever 13 with the upper surface 31a offrame boss 31. It should be noted, however, that if lever 113 is swungmore than approximately 60 from its normal rest position (FIG. 1), theboss 32 of lever 13 will disengage from frame boss 31 thus permittingthe user to move the hand lever and the associated pin member 16b to thelower end of the oval opening 30 in frame 10. Accordingly, the annulargroove in pin member 16b no longer contacts any portion of latch plate19 since it has likewise been reoriented to correspond to the angularposition opening 30 and the pin member and interconnected hand lever maybe readily withdrawn from the remainder of the can opener for cleaningor other purposes.

To reassemble, pin member 16 is inserted in the lower end of opening 30in frame 10 and then pushed rearwardly until the lever seats adjacentthe frame boss 31. Of course, lever 13 must be held at an angle slightlygreater than 60 from the horizontal when this is done. The pin member 16is then moved to its uppermost position in the opening 30 of frame 10thereby permitting lever 13 to be swung downwardly so that engagement ofthe radial boss 32 of lever 13 with a cooperating arcuate or radial boss31 will prevent unlatching since the annular groove 160 contactsportions of the latching plate 19 adjacent the necked down or smallerportion of the keyhole opening 21 therein.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In a can opener having an upright frame member, a rotary feed wheeland a means for rotating said feed wheel, the combination therewith of ahand lever carrying a cutting element, means for mounting said handlever to said frame member for pivotal movement of said lever to swingsaid cutting element toward and away from said feed wheel, said meansincluding an opening defined in a portion of said frame member and a pinmember secured to and projecting from said hand lever, said openingreceiving said pin member therein and having at least a first portionshaped to permit axial separation of said pin member from said openingand a second portion spaced from said first portion for precluding axialseparation and maintaining said pin member therein for rotativemovement, said opening being further shaped to permit movement of saidpin member when located therein that is transverse to the axis of saidpin member, said pin member having a means on an end portion thereof forfacilitating the retaining of said pin member for said rotative movementwithin said opening, wherein said retaining means located on an endportion of said pin member engages a portion of said frame adjacent aportion of said opening when said pin member is located in a preselectedportion of said opening, and holding means for operably locating saidlever on said frame.

2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said frame has a portionthereof defining a surface that selectively contacts an edge portion ofsaid hand lever, said pin member being in said retained position withinsaid opening when said edge portion of said hand lever contacts saidframe surface.

3. The combination as in claim 2 wherein said hand lever has a notchdefined therein adjacent said frame contacting edge surface, said handlever being movable to a position that permits said notch to come inregistration with said frame surface contacting said edge surfacethereby permitting said lever to be moved in a direction to move saidpin member within said opening so that said retaining means no longer isengaged by a portion of said frame and to thereby permit axialseparation of said pin member from said opening within said frame.

4. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said frame member has a bossextending towards said lever when said lever is mounted on said frame,said lever having a boss extending therefrom toward said frame when saidlever is mounted in said frame, said bosses having cooperatingly engagedsurfaces when said lever is mounted on said frame which precludes saidpin member movement from said second position to said first position,said lever being further positionable with respect to said frame topermit said bosses to become disengaged and to allow said pin member tomove to said second position.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE CERTIFICATE OF CQRECHQN Pat nt NO- 3,670,410Q Dated, June 20, 1972 lnventofls) Robert E. McLean It is certified thaterror appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In Column 2, Line 68 "now" should be "not" In Column 3, Line 4 numeral"46" should be "16" In Column 3, Line 3 6 "Hereinafter identified by thenumeral 22" should be enclosed in parentheses.

In Column 3, Line 45 numeral 123" should be '23" In Column 4, Line 28numeral "118" should be "18" In Column 4, Line 5 numeral "113" should be"13" Signed and sealed this 10th day of April 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents FORM PO-105O (1o e9) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 w u.s, GOVERNMENTPRINTING OFFICE: 1959 0-356-334,

1. In a can opener having an upright frame member, a rotary feed wheeland a means for rotating said feed wheel, the combination therewith of ahand lever carrying a cutting element, means for mounting said handlever to said frame member for pivotal movement of said lever to swingsaid cutting element toward and away from said feed wheel, said meansincluding an opening defined in a portion of said frame member and a pinmember secured to and projecting from said hand lever, said openingreceiving said pin member therein and having at least a first portionshaped to permit axial separation of said pin member from said openingand a second portion spaced from said first portion for precluding axialseparation and maintaining said pin member therein for rotativemovement, said opening being further shaped to permit movement of saidpin member when located therein that is transverse to the axis of saidpin member, said pin member having a meaNs on an end portion thereof forfacilitating the retaining of said pin member for said rotative movementwithin said opening, wherein said retaining means located on an endportion of said pin member engages a portion of said frame adjacent aportion of said opening when said pin member is located in a preselectedportion of said opening, and holding means for operably locating saidlever on said frame.
 2. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said framehas a portion thereof defining a surface that selectively contacts anedge portion of said hand lever, said pin member being in said retainedposition within said opening when said edge portion of said hand levercontacts said frame surface.
 3. The combination as in claim 2 whereinsaid hand lever has a notch defined therein adjacent said framecontacting edge surface, said hand lever being movable to a positionthat permits said notch to come in registration with said frame surfacecontacting said edge surface thereby permitting said lever to be movedin a direction to move said pin member within said opening so that saidretaining means no longer is engaged by a portion of said frame and tothereby permit axial separation of said pin member from said openingwithin said frame.
 4. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said framemember has a boss extending towards said lever when said lever ismounted on said frame, said lever having a boss extending therefromtoward said frame when said lever is mounted in said frame, said bosseshaving cooperatingly engaged surfaces when said lever is mounted on saidframe which precludes said pin member movement from said second positionto said first position, said lever being further positionable withrespect to said frame to permit said bosses to become disengaged and toallow said pin member to move to said second position.